AZ Audit: Senate President Claims Entire Database From Election System Deleted; Chairman Disputes, Demands Retraction
Arizona State Senate President Karen Fann penned a letter Wednesday requesting a meeting to clear up alleged disparities discovered during the Republican-led Maricopa County 2020 presidential election audit.
According to Fann, an entire database in the Election Management System has been “deleted” — information which is appears to be covered by the Senate’s subpoena.
“We have recently discovered that the entire ‘Database’ directory from the D drive of the machine ‘EMSPrimary’ has been deleted,” Fann wrote in a letter addressed to Jack Sellers, chair of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. “This removes election related details that appear to have been covered by the subpoena.”
“This suggests that the main database for all election related data for the November 2020 General Election has been removed,” she said. “Can you please advise as to why these folders were deleted, and whether there are any backups that may contain the deleted folders?”
🚨 WOW! Letter from Senate President @FannKfann to BOS regarding significant “irregularities” in Maricopa County. #AmericasAudit will help to restore #ElectionIntegrity & #VoterConfidence! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/12RE2k2ZXk
— Dr. Kelli Ward 🇺🇸 (@kelliwardaz) May 13, 2021
However, Sellers released a statement Thursday evening refuting the claims from Fann and demanding “an immediate retraction of any public statement made to the media and spread via Twitter,” according to ABC 15 News.
“It’s clearer by the day: the people hired by the Senate are in way over their heads,” Sellers said. “This is not funny; this is dangerous.”
Fann proposed in the letter that all key parties meet at the Arizona State Capitol on May 18 to address her concerns “without recourse to additional subpoenas or other compulsory process,” according to the Arizona Independent Daily.
According to a report from The Associated Press, Sellers “did not directly respond to Fann’s request for county officials to answer questions at the Senate on Tuesday, but said the county will hold its own public meeting the day before ‘to refute lies and lay out facts about these issues.’”
The Daily Wire reported last week that the Biden Department of Justice (DOJ) attempted to stop the election auditing efforts, sending a letter to the president of the Arizona state Senate suggesting the recount is illegal.
The Washington Post reported Thursday that the DOJ letter raises “the possibility of a clash between state and federal authorities over the audit.”
“We have a concern that Maricopa County election records, which are required by federal law to be retained and preserved, are no longer under the ultimate control of elections officials, are not being adequately safeguarded by contractors, and are at risk of damage or loss,” wrote Karlan.
Back in February, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Timothy Thomason disagreed with Karlan’s current analysis. The Daily Wire reported:
Senate Republicans and the GOP-dominated Maricopa County Board of Supervisors disagreed about the accessibility of the ballots; the Senate wanted to perform an audit to address election integrity concerns from constituents, whereas the board argued the ballots, by law, were to be kept secret for 24 months following the election. The judge scolded the parties for failing to come to an agreement on their own but sided with the Senate, suggesting the law in question does not conflict with the subpoenas.
“There is no question that the Senators have the power to issue legislative subpoenas,” Judge Thomason wrote at the time, according to The Associated Press. “The Subpoenas comply with the statutory requirements for legislative subpoenas. The Senate also has broad constitutional power to oversee elections.”
“The Arizona legislature clearly has the power to investigate and examine election reform matters,” the ruling said. “The Subpoenas also do not violate separation of powers principles. Production of the subpoenaed materials would not violate confidentiality laws.”
Related: Biden DOJ Attempts To Stop Arizona Election Audit
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